Jets 13, Dolphins 10

MIAMI (AP) _ With a couple of quick cuts and a burst of breakaway speed, Leon Washington moved the New York Jets closer to the playoffs. <br/><br/>Washington's 64-yard gain on a screen pass set up

Tuesday, December 26th 2006, 6:30 am

By: News On 6

MIAMI (AP) _ With a couple of quick cuts and a burst of breakaway speed, Leon Washington moved the New York Jets closer to the playoffs.

Washington's 64-yard gain on a screen pass set up the winning field goal with 10 seconds left, and the Jets overcame rainy weather, a sputtering offense and two late scores by the Miami Dolphins to win 13-10 on Monday night.

The Jets (9-6) will clinch an AFC wild-card playoff berth if they beat Oakland (2-13) in their final regular-season game Sunday.

``It's nice to know that now things are finally in our control,'' first-year coach Eric Mangini said.

Steady rain mired the Jets in a punting contest for three quarters, and all of the points came in the final 17:25. In the final period, New York answered scores by the Dolphins with scoring drives of 80 and 68 yards.

``This is the type of game you want to win,'' Jets linebacker Anthony Schlegel said. ``This was a playoff-type game. We probably will find ourselves in this situation if we are in the playoffs _ a tight game, on the road. This tells us we can pull these kind of games out.''

Miami kicked a tying field goal with 2:09 left, but on the Jets' next play, Washington caught Pennington's pass in the flat and broke into the secondary.

``Leon is faster than most people,'' Pennington said.

``It's obviously a play that is not meant to go that far,'' Miami's Jason Taylor said. ``The defense let the team down.''

Washington's dash set up a 30-yard field goal by Mike Nugent.

For the Dolphins (6-9), the defeat ensures the first losing season for Nick Saban in his 13 years as a college and NFL coach. Miami was eliminated from the playoff race a week ago.

The rain resulted in a succession of errant and dropped passes _ and 18 punts. A mishandled snap spoiled a field goal try by New York. Dolphins cornerback Eddie Jackson left the game with a knee injury when he stumbled and fell on the slippery field without being hit.

``It was an awful game for a long time,'' New York receiver Laveranues Coles said. ``But we still picked up the win.''

When the Dolphins' scoreless streak reached six quarters, Cleo Lemon replaced Joey Harrington at quarterback to start the second half. A third-year pro, Lemon threw his first NFL touchdown pass and finished 11-for-16 for 104 yards.

``We decided to go with Cleo to see if he would give us a little bit of a spark,'' Saban said. ``He did a decent job of moving the team a couple of times.''

Miami's Ronnie Brown, back in the lineup after missing three games with a hand injury, rushed for 110 yards on 18 carries. But the Jets scored on their final three possessions to pull out the win.

After Lemon hit Randy McMichael on a 7-yard touchdown pass to put the Dolphins ahead 7-3, New York regained the lead on Pennington's 31-yard scoring pass to Jerricho Cotchery.

A funny bounce then produced the game's only turnover _ and the tying field goal for Miami.

A short punt by the Dolphins took a backward hop before deflecting off the arm of Jets blocker Brad Kassell, and Miami's John Denney recovered at the Jets 42. Eight plays later, Olindo Mare kicked a 25-yard field goal.

Saban opted to kick rather than trying for a first down on fourth-and-1.

``Some guys wanted to go for it and some guys wanted to kick it,'' Lemon said. ``When it's all said and done, coach Saban's got to make that decision.''